'Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are more diplomatic', says French ace

For the second year in a row, the tennis season ended with the victory of the "new generation" over the Big Three, in this specific case it was Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal who made room for Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev. The impression is that some tennis players are finally ready for the big leap in quality and to counter the domination of the three legends even in the Grand Slam tournaments. Thiem managed to win his first major at the US Open, but it's hard not to remember that Djokovic virtually self-eliminated in the round of 16 and that the Nadal-Federer duo was absent. Among the favorites at the Australian Open 2021, obviously behind Djokovic, there can only be Austrian Dominic Thiem. The 27-year-old current number 3 in the ATP rankings last year reached the final where he managed to snatch a partial of two sets to one. But then the Serbian tennis player recovered and took home the result. The victory at the recent ATP Finals in London in the semifinals against Djokovic gives hope to the young Austrian, who would like to repeat himself in Australia and thus enter the illustrious roll of honor of the kangaroo tournament. It was not easy for Thiem to beat the Serbian who managed to nullify four match points with his nerves of steel, but the Austrian handled the pressure well and took home the victory. Meanwhile, Gilles Simon opened up about Novak Djokovic's relative lack of popularity on the tour in a recent interview. According to the Frenchman, the World No. 1 isn't as diplomatic as Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.

Simon reflects on the Big 3

“There are those who do not like or follow Novak Djokovic because he is so committed and polarized,” Gilles Simon remarked. “Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are more diplomatic, less political.” In terms of Novak Djokovic’s political involvement, Gilles Simon reckons that the Serb has done well to launch a separate player association. The Frenchman agrees with Djokovic that players are not represented well enough in the existing structure. “I sat on the ATP players' council for a long time, I also think that players are not represented enough and that we need better organization. That's why I'm with Novak,” Simon asserted. “On other points, however, I do not share his opinion at all,” the Frenchman stressed. “It's often a bit extreme - but that's obviously what makes it so good.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3lc2j0A